Hometeam: St. John's 21, Wachusett 19

Wednesday

Nov 28, 2012 at 6:00 AMNov 28, 2012 at 10:37 AM

There's a good chance nobody was more excited to wake up find it snowing yesterday morning than St. John's High running back Shadrach Abrokwah. The Pioneers' bulldozing back wasn't fazed by the wintry conditions that slicked the turf at Hal Lane Field.

By Jim Wilson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

There's a good chance nobody was more excited to wake up find it snowing yesterday morning than St. John's High running back Shadrach Abrokwah.

The Pioneers' bulldozing back wasn't fazed by the wintry conditions that slicked the turf at Hal Lane Field. He rushed 23 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns while the much-maligned St. John's defense continued to come up with big plays as the No. 3 Pioneers defeated No. 2 Wachusett Regional, 21-19, to set up a rematch of last year's Division 1 Super Bowl with Leominster.

“We wanted to run the ball in this weather because the defenders don't like to tackle in this cold weather,” Abrokwah said. “Our game plan was to keep running the ball, and that's what we did. The snow kind of surprised me, but it's looking a whole lot like Christmas right now.”

St. John's (8-4) faces the No. 4 Blue Devils (8-4) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitchburg State University. Leominster tipped St. John's in a classic earlier this season, scoring the winning touchdown with 4 seconds left in a 37-34 victory. The Blue Devils also defeated the Pioneers, 21-6, in last year's Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.

The St. John's defense came into the game giving up an average of 28 points per game, but was coming off a solid Thanksgiving performance where it allowed just seven points to powerful St. Peter-Marian. Last night, Davon Jones recovered a fumble in the end zone to end Wachusett's first drive and Jimmy Andreoli ended another by picking off a pass and returning it 80 yards to the Mountaineers' 2-yard line with 6:24 left.

However, the most important defensive stand came with 1:09 left after Wachusett's Scott Beardsley scored on a 1-yard plunge to cut the St. John's lead to 21-19. The Mountaineers went for 2 points, but the left side of the Pioneers' defense stood up Scott Tupper at the line of scrimmage to keep it a two-point game.

“It feels really good. All our hard work throughout the season paid off, and it showed on the field this season,” Abrokwah said. “We can't wait until Saturday to play Leominster in a Super Bowl.”

The Pioneers needed just two plays to find the end zone to start the game. Abrokwah followed up Drew Smiley's 40-yard bubble screen pass to Micah Cummins with a 19-yard touchdown run. Jack Coveney's first of three extra points made it 7-0.

Wachusett (8-4) tied the game in the second quarter when Tupper capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive with a 3-yard score. Trevor McNeil's kick made it 7-7.

However, once again St. John's answered quickly. The Pioneers marched 68 yards in four plays as Abrokwah followed up a 44-yard burst with a 7-yard TD to make it 14-7.

“He gives us that versatility where we can put it on the ground, and he's just a tough, physical runner,” St. John's coach John Andreoli said. “He was able to pick up some big yards, and he popped a couple when we needed him to get us out of some tough field position.”

Tupper (25 carries, 152 yards) ended a 14-play, 81-yard drive to start the second half with a 6-yard score, but the kick failed, leaving it 14-13.

Abrokwah continued to break tackles and pick up big gains on the Pioneers' next drive before Smiley hit John Giacoppe on a screen pass for a 6-yard touchdown with 9:21 left in the game to make it 21-13.

“We ask our kids to improve every day, and they do,” Wachusett coach Mike Dubzinski said. “They give us everything they've got. I'm pleased with the progress we made throughout the season. I'm not happy with the outcome, but I'm pleased with our effort day in and day out.”